That afternoon, everyone noticed Xu Zifan's seriousness. After finishing his work, Xu Zifan searched online for many ways to refuse people, as well as "the art of speaking," "the way couples get along," and "how to communicate with your father-in-law," among other things. He not only found the information but also took notes. Then he asked his colleagues who were getting married for their opinions. Everyone witnessed how meticulous and earnest an honest man can be when he gets serious.
Among the posts he searched, his colleagues also saw some about saying no in the office, specifically not helping others with their work. This made the three people who most liked to ask the original owner for help feel embarrassed. Getting the job done was one thing, but being publicly called out was another. For the sake of their own reputation, they were too ashamed to ask Xu Zifan for help again; wouldn't that make them look like they were bullying him?
After achieving his goal, Xu Zifan remained at his workstation as if he were working, but in reality, he hacked into Wu Lidong and Wu Xuefei's phones, browsed their WeChat Moments, and saved all the screenshots to his email. WeChat Moments allows users to block individuals, and these two always blocked the original owner from seeing their posts, only allowing him to see normal content that wouldn't reveal their relationship.
Xu Zifan quickly browsed through their phones and found a wealth of information, including their sweet interactions on their private social media, hundreds of photos of them together in their phone albums, their mushy WeChat and text message conversations, and extremely frequent call records.
Xu Zifan also found their online banking records, which showed which hotel they stayed at on which day. He also clearly screenshotted the 780,000 yuan that Wu Lidong had in his account.
After emptying their phones, Xu Zifan registered a Weibo account called "Feifan Couple's Happy Record," and posted a photo of their marriage certificate taken by the original owner. The original owner had taken many photos in his excitement at marrying his goddess, inside and out; he chose the cover photo and posted it with the caption: "Fan has secretly loved his classmate Fei for fourteen years, and finally married the goddess of his heart. I hope every day from now on will be filled with happiness."
Then he posted a second post, attaching a candid photo of Wu Xuefei taken by the original owner. She was exceptionally beautiful, and the caption read: "A candid photo of my wife. She's even more beautiful than a celebrity. You will always be my goddess."
In the third post, he took a picture of his work desk and captioned it: "Working hard to give my wife a better life, and looking forward to the arrival of our little baby. Eight more months, that feels like forever."
Then came the fourth, the fifth… Xu Zifan edited twenty Weibo posts in one go, all of them showing affection for his wife, expressing in every word that his wife was his goddess and that he cherished her very much. He also mentioned that his father-in-law lived with them, and that he helped his father-in-law clean the room hoping that his father-in-law would be satisfied, subtly revealing the family situation.
Of course, no one was looking at his newly registered Weibo account; no one read or commented on his numerous posts. After concealing his IP address, Xu Zifan posted his Weibo on a popular dating forum, saying in a girlish tone, "I saw a blogger showing off their love on Weibo. Does such a wonderful husband really exist? Do you guys think it's fake? I can't even find any flaws!"
The post only included two pictures, along with a screenshot and link to a Weibo post. Soon after, Xu Zifan's Weibo post received comments: some said they were watching a drama queen, some said they didn't believe it was real, and some said she seemed quite happy. Xu Zifan created several alternate accounts to leave comments, contradicting himself, questioning why the blogger didn't post a photo of herself, and even claiming the blogger was the beautiful woman in the photo, trying to become a self-promoting internet celebrity. Then he praised her, saying he believed in love again, that this was definitely true love. Finally, he questioned why she was so obsequious to her father-in-law, calling it too humble.
He was very skilled at using online trolls, switching between several accounts and quickly stirring up a debate among netizens. Everyone has their own perspective on this kind of romantic relationship, and disagreements easily lead to arguments. The more they argued, the more comments they received, attracting even more people.
Xu Zifan's Weibo followers gradually increased, although the pace was a bit slow, it was a good start. When he got off work, he saw that the buzz had already picked up, so he didn't need to guide it anymore. He closed Weibo and let it ferment on its own before packing up to go home.
His colleagues all greeted him. Sister Liu, who was going the same way, said, "Zifan, how are you getting home? My husband is picking me up. Why don't you hitch a ride with me?"
Xu Zifan said happily, "Is that okay? I have to take the bus back, so if I can catch a ride, I can go to buy groceries sooner."
Sister Liu disagreed, saying, "Didn't they say they'd changed it? Why are you still buying groceries?"
"Well, we can't let a pregnant woman go hungry. We can talk about other things after she eats. She said she wanted to learn to cook the other day, but she knocked over the soup pot and burned her hand. I didn't dare let her cook, so I just let her sweep the floor and wipe the dust." Xu Zifan smiled and said as he walked with Sister Liu.
Sister Liu said speechlessly, "She can still tip over a soup pot while learning to cook? Isn't she a kitchen killer? How's her hand?"
Xu Zifan thought for a moment, "It's alright, I'm not famous anymore."
Sister Liu asked in surprise, "It's not red anymore? A pot of soup should at least leave a blister, right? Did your wife really get burned? Zifan, I think you're probably too worried about your wife. She might have just bumped into the edge of the pot, which is different from being burned by hot soup. You have to give her a chance to learn. If she doesn't know anything, what will she do if you're not home and the kids want something to eat? After a couple gets married, they both have to practice cooking, otherwise there will definitely be inconveniences in the future. At least she should learn to cook simple dishes like stir-frying and making rice."
Xu Zifan nodded thoughtfully, "I might have misunderstood. Just like how parents spoiling their children is harmful, letting go and allowing them to grow is for their own good. I can't prevent my wife from touching anything either. I just read in a book on the art of marriage that couples must work together."
"Grow up, otherwise your marriage will have problems."
"Yes, that's right. Your brother-in-law and I share everything, and we've had a harmonious relationship for many years."
The two found Liu Jie's husband's car. Xu Zifan greeted him and awkwardly sat in the back seat. Throughout the ride, he noticed Liu Jie and her husband chatting and interacting, occasionally flashing an envious expression, which Liu Jie saw in the rearview mirror. Liu Jie couldn't help but sigh. This young man had never even been in a relationship, and suddenly he was married and had a child—it was truly chaotic. To make matters worse, his wife and father-in-law were both difficult and lazy; she really didn't know if they could make it work. It didn't seem like their relationship would last.
Sister Liu took Xu Zifan to the supermarket opposite the Langge residential area. Xu Zifan thanked them and watched them leave before turning around and going into a hot pot restaurant, where he enjoyed a hearty and spicy hot pot meal.
Buying groceries and cooking? Forget about it.
By the time he finished eating and drinking, it was already 8 PM. He took out his phone and scrolled through Weibo for a while. Seeing that many people suspected he was self-promoting, he posted a Weibo message: "Marrying my goddess is the biggest surprise of my life. If it weren't for the accident and the baby, she definitely wouldn't have been interested in me. Please don't slander my wife. This isn't self-promotion on her part. She doesn't even know about this Weibo account. This is just a place I want to record our happy life. I hope to share it with friends who are also happy. Please, some people, stop making malicious speculations."
Those accused of malicious speculation were naturally unhappy and immediately intensified their attacks. Some even investigated his IP address, trying to find concrete evidence of self-promotion. However, Xu Zifan was always cautious and they couldn't find any evidence at all. He looked like a devoted man showing off his love.
The more he acts this way, the more his fans who believe in Xu Zifan like his Weibo posts, because they feel he truly loves his wife. Every woman hopes to have a man who treats her well, and when they suddenly see someone willing to share, of course they want to keep watching, constantly asking about their daily lives and hoping he'll update his Weibo more often. Ideally, he should write more, like a diary entry; everyday sweetness is the sweetest thing!
Xu Zifan picked one person to reply to: "Every day is pretty much the same. I just finished eating. My wife and father-in-law went to watch TV. I have to wash the dishes, do housework, and then do the laundry. There's not much to say about that. I'm going to get to work."
His reply quickly went viral, with many expressing surprise and praising him as a good man. Some felt it was a bit much that he was doing so much work while his wife and father-in-law watched TV. However, given the trend of showing affection on Weibo, most people interpreted it as him simply displaying his love for his wife and expressing how good he was to her.
The trolls seized on this, saying that a normal man couldn't possibly do all that housework after get off work—grocery shopping, cooking, and so on—and that it must be a woman's fantasy. They righteously accused the blogger, saying it's fine for a woman to fantasize about having a good husband, but it's wrong for someone like her to fantasize so much and then use Weibo to deceive people; isn't that deceiving the public's feelings?
No matter how much the haters jumped around, Xu Zifan didn't reply to them because he had already gone home.
Wu Xuefei and Wu Lidong were eating takeout—four dishes and a soup—when he walked in, his face fell. Wu Lidong said, "So you finally decided to come back? Feifei called you so many times and you didn't answer. What's wrong with you?"
Xu Zifan took out his phone and exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? When did I turn on airplane mode? I didn't even notice. Xuefei, did you need something?"
Wu Xuefei frowned. "You didn't even tell me you were working overtime. Dad and I waited for you for ages. We only ordered takeout because our stomachs were growling. Zifan, you were being unclear on the phone today. Are you complaining that I'm doing nothing? I can go out and find a job. I've never wanted to be a housewife. If it weren't for this unexpected child, I would never have stayed at home."
Wu Lidong scolded, "Why don't you apologize to Feifei right now? What kind of thing did you do? You think pregnant women don't work? You know Feifei's pregnancy is unstable. Feifei even told me that you were very good to her, but I don't see what's so good about it."
The two women, working in unison, thought they could get Xu Zifan to apologize immediately by striking first. However, Xu Zifan surprisingly said, "Xuefei, are you upset that I didn't let you go out to work? You misunderstood me. I didn't mean that. I know you graduated from university and went abroad to further your studies, so you're definitely more capable than me. I never intended for you to be a housewife. Many pregnant women in our company are working and very confident. I even asked around today. Didn't you say you've been feeling unhappy these past few days, unable to muster any energy for anything? They said staying at home like that can easily lead to depression, and you need to interact with others more. Going to work allows you to chat with many colleagues, which improves your mood. So I support you finding a job. What kind of job do you want?"
Wu Xuefei and Wu Lidong were taken aback. They exchanged a glance, and Wu Lidong immediately said, "Nonsense! Feifei is having a hard time during this pregnancy. How can she go out to work? What if something happens to her?"
Xu Zifan put down his bag, sat on the sofa, took out his laptop, and opened it. He smiled and said, "Dad, you're too worried. I asked a lot of experienced colleagues today. When they heard about Xuefei's situation, they all said that she's just staying at home doing nothing. If this continues, it'll easily cause problems. Her health will get worse and worse, and she'll become more and more depressed. She has to go out and work. Of course, it has to be an easy job. It doesn't matter if she earns less. Although I know Xuefei is so ambitious and definitely wants to earn more money, pregnancy is a special period. Xuefei, just bear with it and find a job that pays around two thousand. Just think of it as going on vacation."
"By the way," Xu Zifan turned to Wu Lidong and smiled, "Dad, didn't you say yesterday that you were bored at home? I asked a few people to help you find a security guard job. Why don't you give it a try?"